1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a Venetian blind tassel that retains a plurality of height adjustment cords for a Venetian blind without creating the risk of strangulation to a small child that may play with the cord.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art Venetian blind assembly includes a head rail in the form of a generally U-shaped channel that can be mounted horizontally near the top of a window. An elongate rod extends through the channel and is rotatable about its longitudinal axis. A plurality of pairs of flexible tapes extend through the channel. Ends of the tapes within the channel are secured to opposed longitudinal sides of the rod or to a disk mounted on the rod. Thus, rotation of the rod in a first direction will cause one tape in each pair to move upwardly and the other to move downwardly. Conversely, rotation of the rod in the opposed direction causes the respective tapes to move in opposite directions. Portions of the tapes below the head rail are secured to the bottom rail of the prior art Venetian blind assembly and are interconnected to one another by equally spaced flexible strips. The strips that connect the flexible tapes are used to support the long flat slats of the Venetian blind assembly. In this manner, the above described upward and downward movement of the respective flexible strips causes the Venetian blind slats to rotate in unison about their respective longitudinal axes.
A pair of slat tilting cords will extend downwardly from one end of the head rail and will have their upper ends operatively connected to the rod in the head rail. The lower ends of the cords are entirely separate and may have tassels connected thereto for decorative purposes and to avoid fraying of the cord ends. A downward force on one of these two cords will cause the rod in the head rail to rotate in a first direction, and will generate a corresponding tilting of the Venetian blind slats. A downward force on the other of these two cords will cause the rod in the head rail to rotate in the opposite direction, and will generate an opposite tilting of the Venetian blind slats. These cords that control the tilting of the blinds present virtually no safety problems and are not the subject of this invention.
Prior art Venetian blinds also include a plurality of height adjustment cords. One end of each height adjustment cord is securely affixed to the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly. The height adjustment cords extend up through or adjacent the slats and into the head rail. These cords then extend to one end of the head rail, and downwardly to a location that is conveniently accessible.
A downward pulling force exerted on the free ends of the height adjustment cords will raise the bottom rail of the prior art Venetian blind assembly, and will successively lift the Venetian blind slats. The prior art Venetian blind assembly typically includes a brake or rachet mechanism in the head rail to releasably hold the height adjustment cords in a selected position for maintaining the bottom rail of the blinds at a preferred height. Lateral movement of the free ends of the lifting cords will release the brake or rachet to permit gravitationally powered downward movement of the bottom rail and the Venetian blind slats.
Venetian blind assemblies for fairly narrow windows typically include two height adjustment cords connected near the respective ends of the bottom rail. Wider Venetian blind assemblies, however, may include four lifting cords connected to spaced apart locations on the bottom rail. As noted above, the slat tilting cords are functionally independent, and hence have their free ends entirely separate. The height adjustment cords, however, must work in unison to ensure that the slats remain substantially horizontal. As a result, the free ends of the height adjustment cord are connected to one another. These connections could be achieved by a simple knot. However, many prior art Venetian blinds have the free ends of the lifting cords connected to a tassel that resembles the tassels on the ends of the blind tilting cords.
The elevation of the free ends of the height adjustment cords varies inversely with the elevation of the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly. Thus, when the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly is near the window sill, the free ends of the height adjustment cords will be at their highest position. Conversely, when the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly is lifted to its highest point, the free ends of the height adjustment cords are very low. Most windows are at least four or five feet tall. Hence, the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly and the free ends of the height adjustment cords are likely to have a range of movement of at least four or five feet. As a result, the free ends of the height adjustment cords typically will be very close to the floor when the bottom rail of the Venetian blind assembly is at its highest point.
The interconnected free ends of the height adjustment cords create a potential safety hazard for small children, and particularly infants or toddlers. In this regard, a small child playing near the Venetian blinds may inadvertently or playfully insert his or her head through the loop defined by the interconnected free ends of the height adjustment cords. Strangulation and/or impeded blood flow to the brain can result, particularly if the small child falls while entangled with the height adjustment cords.
The prior art includes a safety tassel assembly for the height adjustment cords of Venetian blinds. The safety tassel assembly includes two separate tassels shaped like open-boxes. Each rectangular tassel includes a top wall with an aperture extending therethrough into the open interior of the box. The aperture in each tassel is dimensioned to receive a height adjustment cord of a blind. The top wall further includes a projection dimensioned to frictionally but releasably engage the other tassel. Each tassel further includes a bottom wall having a projection that can releasably engage the bottom wall of the other tassel. The height adjustment cords in a two-cord Venetian blind assembly are passed through the apertures in the top walls of the respective tassels of the tassel assembly, and are knotted. The tassels are then releasably engaged with one another by urging the projections on one tassel into frictional engagement with the projections on the other. The same tassel assembly can be used for a four-cord Venetian blind by shaping the top wall of each tassel to grip the third and fourth cords between the respective top walls of the assembly. This prior art tassel assembly is effective for preventing strangulation. However, this prior art tassel assembly presents several additional inefficiencies. First, the opposed halves of the tassel assembly are easily separated from one another during normal use of the blinds. Thus, the cords may be pulled different amounts resulting in an uneven lifting of the blinds. Second, the top wall of each tassel is small and thin and is weakened by the aperture formed therein. This top wall can break in response to forces generated during normal use of the Venetian blind, thereby causing the small plastic part to fall on the floor. This small part is of a size that can readily be ingested by a small child, and thus creates a different type of potential safety problem. Additionally, the prior art height adjustment cord safety tassel assembly requires two separate molds, thereby doubling the mold manufacturing cost and reducing the mold operational efficiency. Furthermore, the cord receiving aperture in the top wall requires a cam action mold with fairly expensive tooling and complicated molding.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide an improved safety tassel for the height adjustment cords of a Venetian blind assembly.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a one piece height adjustment cord tassel to ensure level lifting of the Venetian blinds and to provide more efficient manufacturing and inventory control.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a height adjustment cord tassel that is not subject to breakage during normal use.